MUMBAI: As we had first reported to you, American singing sensation Jennifer Lopez finally turned down the offer to perform at the upcoming IPL 6 opening event. SEE REPORT
However since this is the first time Shah Rukh Khan and his Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd has been signed on as the promoter for the ceremony, we hear that the Bollywood superstar is pulling out all the stops to try and get the ‘Love Don’t Cost A thing’ sensation on board.
Co-owner of KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) – the team which won the IPL 5, SRK is going to play host at the opening ceremony of the sixth season. Now while Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone have been confirmed, the dilly-dally around JLo continues.
While it is being officially reported that Jennifer backed out citing date issues, a reliable source revealed to us that “the monies offered to her did not excite JLo enough.”
Reports are now saying that SRK is trying his level best to convince the popular singer who has a huge fan base in India as well.
“It is true that we still don’t have the confirmation of Jennifer Lopez till now. She was very excited initially but now she has cited date issues. However, Shah Rukh has not given up and we are trying to convince her. We are expecting a confirmation within three days. We are trying to convince JLO’s manager to help work it out because we have seven more days to get things going. Shah Rukh is still optimistic,” explained an official from the Red Chillies Entertainment.
Other sources say Lopez has backed out because of an impasse over TV rights. Reportedly, the US channel that exclusively covers Jennifer’s performances has demanded a huge sum to hand over the exclusive rights to the Indian channel that has bought the rights of the opening ceremony. Hence the International star backed out over this road block.
“If JLo doesn’t turn up then SRK, Katrina and Deepika have to put their best foot forward and pull off the show,” said the official.
With a budget of Rs 25 crore for the opening ceremony, this was not the only change – actress and singer Priyanka Chopra also won’t be performing.
The Indian Premier League Season 6 will be held at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on April 2, 2013.
